Support Department

What are Additional Support Needs?

All learners need support to help them learn. Through good quality teaching and a suitable curriculum, most are able to make progress without the need for any additional support.

However, some children and young people will require more or different support to what is normally provided. Put simply they have Additional Support Needs (ASN).

Children or young people may require additional support for a variety of reasons:They…

…have motor or sensory impairments…are being bullied…are particularly able or talented…have experienced a bereavement…are interrupted learners…have a learning disability…are a looked after child by a local authority…have a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia…are living with parents who are abusing substances…are living with parents who have mental health problems…have English as an additional language…are not attending school regularly…have emotional or social difficulties…are on the child protection register…are young carers.

Duration: Every child is different and it is not possible to list all of the reasons why additional support might be needed. One child’s additional support needs could last for just a few weeks while another’s may last for years.

Factors which might mean additional support is needed could include:-

learning environment - what is being taught, or the way in which it is being taught, may not be suitable for an individual childfamily circumstances - family breakdown, homelessness, or becoming looked after may have an effect on a child‘s ability to learndisability or health need - sight or hearing difficulties, mental or physical health problems, learning or attention difficulties can all affect how well a child learnssocial and emotional factors - bereavement, bullying, behavioural difficulties or experiencing racial discrimination could mean that a child needs additional support.